The invention herein pertains to household vacuum cleaners and in particular pertains to an attachment for placement on the end of a vacuum cleaner hose for dusting and cleaning fragile objects.
Electric vacuum cleaners with extending hoses have long been used for cleaning floors and other areas. The flexible hose normally has a stiff metal or plastic tubular distal end for connection to various implements, some of which have relatively stiff bristles. Other types of implements or attachments are available for use on chairs, draperies and other furnishings.
Many homes display china, photographs, figurines, coins, jewelry, plants and other delicate and fragile objects, such objects being difficult to conveniently dust and clean. It is usual to manually lift each object, dust it individually with a hand duster or cloth and replace it on the shelf. Individual dusting of these objects can be very time-consuming, depending on the number which must be handled carefully. Cleaning personnel often are not careful when replacing such displayed items, requiring the owner to spend time rearranging the displays. Occasionally, an accident will happen and for example, an expensive figurine will be dropped and destroyed in the dusting and cleaning process. A limited number of vacuum hose attachments are often used but with limited success due to the extreme care needed when small, fragile objects are dusted.
Thus, based on the problems and disadvantages of using conventional vacuum hose attachments, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a dusting attachment for a vacuum hose which can be used on and around fragile objects for safe, thorough dust removal.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an attachment for a vacuum cleaner hose which includes a plurality of soft feathers which will not damage, displace or mar fragile, small objects.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a vacuum hose attachment which is substantially, conically shaped.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an attachment for a vacuum hose which includes a conically shaped suction fitting having a first plurality of feathers therearound and a fitting insert affixed in axial alignment thereto which likewise is surrounded with feathers.
Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing an attachment for a conventional vacuum cleaner hose which will facilitate cleaning of fragile displayed objects such as china, figurines, plants and the like. The attachment in its preferred form includes a conically shaped suction fitting which defines a mouth having a plurality of ostrich feathers affixed thereto. A smaller conically shaped fitting insert is positioned within and axially aligned with the suction fitting. The fitting insert likewise has a plurality of soft feathers surrounding its mouth. The fitting insert is axially aligned but spaced from the suction fitting by a perforated tubular connector. A trap attached to the perforated connector allows for collection of small, lightweight items that may be inadvertently drawn into the fitting insert.
The attachment is joined to the distal end of a conventional vacuum cleaner hose and with the vacuum cleaner operating, the attachment is then manipulated by hand along a display shelf or the like which contains small, delicate objects. The feathers disturb the dust on the objects and surrounding areas to allow the vacuum to draw the dust into the attachment where the dust particles then pass into the hose to the vacuum cleaner debris reservoir. The feathers employed are soft and flexible and the suction fitting and fitting insert are also both formed of flexible materials to prevent damage or displacement of the objects during dusting and cleaning.